Since we were born, I believe that no one will ever realize what skills or talents are in us without learning through it before. In fact, when I thought of childhood, I didn't like getting to the kitchen the most. When I saw my mother cooking for everyone in the house 3 meals a day almost every day, thus my youthful thinking that day felt that cooking was a real burden. But I, as a daughter, also needed to join the kitchen with my mother. It is also a good desire for my mom to train me in gaining a kitchen experience for becoming a self-reliant housewife in the future, from washing vegetables, frying, stirring, peeling fruit, decorating dish, to cleaning everything after eating. In which my mother received this training from my grandmother as well.
In childhood, I remember well that I was often the one who did not often meet my mom’s cooking standard because she is quite a tidy but also very creative in cooking from time to time. She often said that I have no imagination when it comes to cooking. That was so brutal for me though. Until one day that I have started farming organic plants and cooking on my own. I feel very proud of myself that now I can cook and that some menu I could use my own imagination together with experience from eating somewhere. I am grateful for the fate that made me decide to do organic farming in the backyard area that gives so much value to life. I have clean food to eat, fresh air to breathe, and a relaxing area on when I have a bad day. It made me understand the true happy life of humans on how they should really eat and live on this planet with just the right things.
The answer is that I get to plant what I want to eat, and I get to eat what I planted. I do eat quality foods alongside having a good sleep and breathing the fresh air. That’s the quality of life for me. So, today, I am going to present you my 3 menus that I can get from my backyard.
In childhood, I remember well that I was often the one who did not often meet my mom’s cooking standard because she is quite a tidy but also very creative in cooking from time to time. She often said that I have no imagination when it comes to cooking. That was so brutal for me though. Until one day that I have started farming organic plants and cooking on my own. I feel very proud of myself that now I can cook and that some menu I could use my own imagination together with experience from eating somewhere. I am grateful for the fate that made me decide to do organic farming in the backyard area that gives so much value to life. I have clean food to eat, fresh air to breathe, and a relaxing area on when I have a bad day. It made me understand the true happy life of humans on how they should really eat and live on this planet with just the right things.
The answer is that I get to plant what I want to eat, and I get to eat what I planted. I do eat quality foods alongside having a good sleep and breathing the fresh air. That’s the quality of life for me. So, today, I am going to present you my 3 menus that I can get from my backyard.
The menu for today is a spicy salad mixed with Sichuan cucumber.
This vegetarian menu was inspired by a Chinese restaurant in Bangkok. I saw this menu and I thought that I won’t get fat from eating this. After a bite of it, I felt that it’s quite yummy. Since then, I started to think what ingredients they put in the dish. And when the season is suitable for growing cucumbers and coriander, this dish has always been the menu that I often cook.
Ingredients
Baby cucumber, Red chili (Or any chili that is not too spicy), Chinese coriander, Garlic, Flavoring, Sesame oil and White soy sauce
Cooking Instruction
1. Wash and peel the cucumbers, then cut the bottom and the head of it. Soak them in cold water with coriander.
2. Cut the red chili into thin strips (You can also take some seeds to add more spice.)
3. Mince the garlic and mix with chili and put them in the sesame oil. Add white soy sauce until it gives salty and spicy tastes. (Please note that the organic cucumber has a sweet taste, so please put extra flavor when seasoning this dressing.)
4. After finish with the dressing, cut the cucumber and coriander into mouth-served pieces. Quickly but gently mix them in the dressing in order to avoid the cucumber from losing cold and bruising.
I first served this menu to the Belgium lady who is a vegetarian. I improvised everything since it was my first time, however, the result turned great. Since then, this menu has become my favorite one and I think it would be more awesome when eating this with the Hainanese chicken rice. And for your information, the suitable seasons for planting cucumbers is from July to November, and from November till February for the coriander.
In fact, I grow and collect my own seeds every year. This is like a promise between myself and my private seed bank that started from a humble corner of my mother's fridge that now it occupies over 1 layer of the fridge already. These are the seeds that I need to plant, harvest and collect each of them for my yearly planting when it comes to the planting season of that seed.
This makes it much easier for them to grow each year because these vegetable seeds will slowly develop their genes every year naturally to suit the climate of my garden. When I harvest the seeds at the right time and they are well looked after, I don't need to mix the chemicals together with the fungus anymore. Therefore, my coriander seeds are not in pink like those in the market. In addition to have my own coriander to make Sichuan salad, I can also have it as a spice in other dishes as well.
Please stay tuned for my second menu for those who love taro in the next episode!
Author
Noon – Natkanag Prichaborisutkul
Farmer/ Safe Food Producer/
Organic Soap and Shampoo Producer/ Self-managed Trainer